Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) Director Sells $1,004,427.37 in Stock

Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR) Director Blackhurst Janis Jones sold 33,899 shares of Caesars Entertainment stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.63, for a total value of $1,004,427.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Caesars Entertainment Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Caesars Entertainment stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.73. 2,735,592 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,729,793. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a PE ratio of -13.04 and a beta of 1.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.86 and a 200-day moving average of $27.66. Caesars Entertainment, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.86 and a 12 month high of $30.88.

Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported ($0.30) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.35). Caesars Entertainment had a negative net margin of 3.99% and a negative return on equity of 7.64%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.39) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Caesars Entertainment, Inc. will post -0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CZR. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caesars Entertainment during the second quarter valued at approximately $830,001,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Caesars Entertainment in the second quarter worth $346,014,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Caesars Entertainment by 2,852.0% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,750,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,659,000 after purchasing an additional 6,521,369 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Caesars Entertainment by 246,899,900.0% during the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,938,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,500,000 after buying an additional 4,937,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Caesars Entertainment by 121.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,141,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,049,000 after buying an additional 3,910,430 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Caesars Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $31.00 price target (down from $35.00) on shares of Caesars Entertainment in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Raymond James Financial cut Caesars Entertainment from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Caesars Entertainment from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded shares of Caesars Entertainment from a “positive” rating to a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.71.

About Caesars Entertainment

Caesars Entertainment Corporation is a leading integrated gaming and hospitality company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company owns and operates a global portfolio of resorts, casinos, and entertainment venues designed to deliver comprehensive hospitality experiences. Its business activities span hotel accommodations, gaming operations, food and beverage services, live events, and convention services, with a focus on delivering luxury and entertainment to both leisure and business travelers.

The company traces its lineage to the founding of Harrah’s by William F.